I absolutely loved this book. There's a reason Michael Crichton is so famous, he's a great story-teller. I thought the pace of this book was perfect. It was supremely better than the movie, and the characters were not basic in their desires and personalities. My only complaint is that it seems he rushed the ending a bit. I wish he had taken more time to explore the aftermath of the expedition, and the way the characters' relationships to each other had evolved.